Thursday
19th May 2022
EU leaders unveiled a €210bn strategy aiming to cut Russian gas out of the European energy equation before 2027 and by two-thirds before the end of the year — but questions remain on how it is to be financed.
Granting EU candidacy status to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine will firmly anchor their ties with Brussels — and enable the EU to secure its place in the Black Sea region, connecting Europe to China and energy-rich Central Asia, bypassing Russia.
The Nordic Bridges cultural initiative is now in full swing in Canada — an initiatives of the Nordic ministers for culture, to showcase interaction between their cultures and the rest of the world.
EU countries need to refill stockpiles after several member states supplied weapons to Ukraine in its fight with Russia, and to phase out existing Soviet-era weapons systems, and reinforce air defence.
The EU and US are carrying out legal assessments on whether it can use frozen Russian money to rebuild Ukraine after the war.
The EU Ombudsman reviewed 100 'revolving door' cases at the European Commission — of which, the EU executive forbid a former staff member from taking on a private sector job on just two occasions.
The EU unveiled its plans to increase solar generation capacity and accelerate the rollout of major renewable projects in the EU — as part of efforts to reduce energy imports from Russia.
Ukraine can continue to count on arms supplies from EU states as it inflicts "record" losses on Russia's invading force, the EU's foreign affairs chief has said.
The EU warning comes after the UK government escalated the conflict over the Northern Ireland protocol — a set of post-Brexit trade rules — by saying it will unilaterally pass a law to change the EU-UK trade treaty.
Four defendants in a larger case by Italian prosecutors face 20 years in prison for having helped rescue hundreds of people from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.
EU must increase funding to "help ensure Ukraine prevails over Putin's aggression," US treasury secretary Janet Yellen said in Brussels — but some EU leaders are starting to sound less warlike and have instead called for an early peace.
MEPs on the environment committee agreed on reform of the European carbon market — including expanding it to buildings and transport. They also want to extend the scope of the carbon border tax, and phase out free permits by 2030.
The full-scale war Russia has launched in Ukraine simply reinforced the Ukrainisation and Europeanisation of Ukrainian society.
Would you pick up a gun and fight for Ukraine? The injustice of the Russian invasion has led white-collar professionals like Florent and Thomas to trade suits and ties for camouflage and Kalashnikovs.
Hungary is continuing to block an EU oil embargo on Russia, but there is optimism its objections can soon be overcome — perhaps within a few days to "a week or two", according to some EU foreign ministers.
EU plans to quit Russian gas and replace it, in part, by importing overseas liquified natural gas has lead to a flurry of new gas projects — which threaten to lock in unnecessary gas use for decades.
MEPs have raised concerns over the level of contamination of some hazardous chemicals in Europe, prompting calls to speed up the restrictions on the so-called "forever chemicals".
The impact of Russia's war in Ukraine is being felt throughout the EU and the eurozone. The European Commission has downgraded its economic forecast to 2.7-percent growth this year.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a threat to all Europe, particularly the Baltic. Sweden and Finland must join Nato to secure peace in the Baltic Sea, write the leaders of the EPP Nordic and Baltic delegations in European Parliament.
Sweden has signalled it will follow Finland in applying to join Nato, as Switzerland also mulls closer ties with the Western alliance.
The EU Commission is expected to put forward the RePowerEU plan, which aims to help the diversification of fossil fuel imports in the bloc, as the EU aims to get rid of its dependence on Russian energy supplies.
Valdimir Putin's equivalent to Nato — the Collective Security Treaty Organization of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Armenia, Tajikistan, and Belarus — is convening in Moscow next week to give cover that Russia is not alone in its war against Ukraine.
The European Parliament and EU member states have reached an agreement over new rules intended to protect Europe's public and private critical entities from cyberattacks.
The EU unveiled plans to help Ukraine export its agricultural production — amid fears that the war will create a global food crisis.
Internal documents found EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and energy commissioner Kadri Simson coordinated their Russian gas cutting strategy with oil CEOs to determine which measures were "feasible".
Some 2.7 million Ukrainians have registered for protection in the EU. But many others are hesitating to do the same.
British foreign secretary Liz Truss said the UK has "no choice but to act" on the Northern Ireland protocol governing post-Brexit trade during a call with EU Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič — who warned unilateral action was "simply not acceptable".
A basic lack of transparency around the EU's vaccines procurement negotiations has prevented effective public and parliamentary scrutiny. It has also made it impossible to answer some of the key questions we put forward here.
Finnish public support for joining Nato has risen to record figures since Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Finland's historic move puts pressure on Sweden to also move towards joining the military alliance.
The new draft European Parliament report is an update to the 2018 report which triggered the Article 7 procedure against Hungary, a sanctions probe aiming to rein in member states that break EU rules and values.
The EU aims to diversify supplies and increase imports of renewable hydrogen as part of its efforts to wean the continent off Russian gas — amid a dramatically changed geo-political reality.
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde signalled an interest rate increase possibly as early as July, but some experts warn for a repeat of the 2011-2012 debt crisis.
Online child sex abuse continues to increase with EU-based servers hosting some 60 percent of the global content. But a proposal by the EU commission to stop it has riled privacy advocates.
